Mechanical toy



Feb. 7,1939. s BERGER 2,146,050

' MECHANICAL TOY Filed May 26, 1937 INVENTOR fiamaedjfiezyer' BY ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 7, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

My present invention relates to mechanical toys of the general type disclosed and claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 88,498, filed July 2, 1936. In operation of a toy of that general type, the interest of the players is apt to fag due to the fact that the figure will respond in generally predictable manner. For instance, in the prize fighter embodiment shown in the copending application, the figure knocked against the rope may be readily predicted.

An object of the present invention is so to modify the construction that the identity of the defeated figure or the figure otherwise to be singled out cannot be predicted, so that the realism, the sporting appeal and the intriguing character of the toy is greatly enhanced.

While the invention is shown applied to the toy of the copending application, it is understood that it is applicable to any of a wide variety of other toys and in fact to any toy in which abrupt reversals of motion occur of an element carrying a plurality of toy figures, some unpredictable one of which figures is to perform a distinctive movement at the conclusion of each motor operation.

In the accompanying drawing in which is shown one of various possible embodiments of the several features of the invention,

' Fig. l is a fragmentary view in cross-section of one embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the cam and gate construction,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1 and;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the ratchet wheel.

The general setting of the invention being identical with that of the copending applications will be but briefly set forth. There is shown a casing l0 having therein a housing I I for a spring motor. Upon the outturned tongues I2 at the exterior of the housing is mounted the shaft 13 for a turntable l4 mounted. near the upper end thereof and flush with the cover of the casing l 0, said shaft being rotated with sudden reversals by conventional crown gear l6 operated from the motor, with teeth I! along a short segment thereof, alternately meshing With pinion I8 and pinion l9 upon the shaft. Upon the turntable are 50 mounted a number of figures, two of which are illustratively shown at and 2|, each having a downwardly extending lug 22 pivoted on a cross vpin 23 through a channel member 24 extending diametrically across the lower face of the turntable and secured thereto. A leaf spring 25 within the channel reacts at its middle against a bearing cup 26 for the upper end of shaft I3, and its arms or ends react against tines 21 on the respective lugs 22, tending thereby to pivot the figures 20, 2| away from each other about their respective cross-pins 23.

Upon the motor housing ll there is also mounted a cam plate 28, along the periphery of which the lower parts of the lugs 22 ride. The cam plate has a gate 29, normally closed under the action of spring 36 by a slide piece 30 connected to the motor braking slide 3|.

A tappet 32 mounted on a motor driven shaft 33 is turned, periodically to engage and shift a lever 34 pivoted at 35 which is thereby caused to displace a spring 36 to shift the slide 303I and open the gate 29 so that the next figure lug 22 to reach the gate 29 in the course of the sudden reversals of rotation of the turntable, enters the gate 29 under the action of spring 25 thereby to displace the corresponding figure; illustratively to be knocked against the ropes and to lock the turntable and with it the motor against further operation. Upon pushing the brake slide 3| inwardly, the gate 29 is again closed, the tilted figure raised, and the operation resumed until stoppage again occurs in the manner set forth.

If the shaft l3 were rigidly connected to the turntable, it is apparent that the law according to which one or the other figure is caused to be pivoted over, will be a simple one and the movement of the figures readily predictable.

According to the invention, the connection between the shaft l3 and the turntable I 4 is of the clutch type and in order to assure positive drive, preferably of the ratchet clutch type. In a preferred specific embodiment, there is keyed upon the preferably square driving shaft IS a ratchet wheel 38, preferably somewhat crowned with its teeth 39 turned inward as shown in Fig. 5. The channel member has slots 40 and 4| therein, into which diametrically opposite teeth of wheel 38 enter, to afford a rigid driving connection from the shaft to the turntable.

The'ratchet Wheel is resiliently retained in its driving connection by means of a leaf spring 42, extending longitudinally of the channel 24, anchored'at its ends by corresponding tines 43, struck up from the cross bar of the channel 24.

The shaft extends through the metal of the leaf spring 42, which is centrally bowed inward to engage the ratchet wheel 38. It will be apparent that the driving connection, (clockwise in Fig. 3), from the shaft to the turntable is a rigid nonslipping one, since the steep ends of the diametrically opposite teeth drive through the edges of the slots 40, 4|. In operation of the motor, the rotation is suddenly reversed to counterclockwise, while the larger diameter turntable with its mounted figures tends to continue in its clockwise movement under inertia. Due to this inertia the oblique longer edges of the ratchet teeth 39, tend to ride out of the slots 40, 4] against the opposition of leaf spring 42. Where the motor has been fully wound and the inertia is correspondingly great, the ratchet wheel may advance through the full arc of a tooth, so that the driving shaft and turntable are displaced by an angular interval equal to that of a tooth 39. It will be apparent that the frequency with which such angular displacement occurs and the effect of each angular, displacement in causing one rather than the other figure to be shifted at the end of the operation is for all practical purposes unpredictable.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and method and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A mechanical toy of the type including an element performing periodical reversals of movement, figures associated with said element and movable therewith, means coacting with said element to move some one of the figures out of normal position after a period of operation and simultaneously to arrest the motor; the combination therewith of a clutch connection between the motor and the reversing element having a limited slip to cause the latter to continue toadvance a limited extent relative to one of the elements of the clutch connection, due to the inertia of movement of said reversing element, upon certain reversals of said clutch connection element.

2. In a mechanical toy of the type comprising a turntable, a shaft therefor, a spring motor having an interrupted gear connection to said shaft for causing sudden reversals in the movement of said shaft and turntable, a plurality of action figures movably mounted upon said turntable, a fixed cam under said turntable coacting with the lower parts of said figures, means coacting with said cam to cause one of the figures to become displaced and to lock the turntable and thereby interrupt the operation of the motor; the combination therewith of a ratchet wheel and slot connection between the shaft and the turntable to permit the latter to advance relative to the former due to inertia at certain reversals thereof.

3 As an element in a mechanical toy, a turntable, having means for mounting figures thereon, a shaft therefor, and a slipping clutch connection between said shaft and said turntable, said connection comprising a ratchet wheel having crown teeth, stops rigid with said turntable and spring means maintaining one of said teeth in engagement with said stop for driving connection and to permit slippage from time to time through the arc of one tooth upon reversal.

4. In a mechanical toy, the combination of a turntable, a channel diametrically thereof, mounting lugs pivotally supported in said channel for supporting figures on said turntable, a drive shaft for said turntable having a bearing rigid therewith, said shaft being mounted rotatably relative to said turntable, means effecting a driving connection between said shaft and said turntable, said means comprising a crowned ratchet wheel keyed to said shaft, slots in said channel registering with teeth of said ratchet, and a leaf spring, urging said ratchet wheel against said channel, whereby a ratchet tooth coacting with the slot effects the driving connection between, the shaft and the turntable, and upon reversal slippage under inertia to the next slot is permitted.

5. In mechanical toy, a turntable, a channel member diametrically thereof, a driving shaft through said turntable, and said channel member, a crown ratchet wheel keyed to said shaft, tongues struck up from said channel, a leaf spring anchored at its ends by said tongues and having a central aperture from said shaft and reacting at its middle to press said ratchet wheel against said channel, said channel having transverse slots to accommodate diametrically opposite teeth of said ratchet wheel.

6. In a mechanical toy of the type including a turntable, a shaft, a spring motor rotating said shaft in alternate directions, a drive connection between said shaft and said turntable, figures mounted on said turntable, and displaceable with respect thereto, and means for locking said turntable and stalling said motor upon the displacement of one of said figures with respect to said turntable; the combinationtherewith of a slipping clutch in said drive connection, to permit limited advance of the turntable with respect to said shaft, due to the inertia of movement of said I turntable, upon certain reversals of said shaft.

'7. As an element in a mechanical toy, a turntable, having means for mounting figures there on, a shaft, means for periodically reversing said shaft, and drive means including a slipping clutch, between said shaft and said turntable, for

rotatively oscillating said turntable, and for is changing the relative rotative position of said turntable with respect to said shaft, upon certain reversals of said shaft. I

8. A mechanical toy of the class described including figures, a supporting member for said figures, a spring motor, a drive connection between said motor and said supporting member for oscillating said member, means responsive to the oscillating movement of said member, for causing said figures to move with respect to said supporting member, to perform certain amusing operations, and means for automatically interrupting said drive connection at certain phases thereof, to render the sequence of operation of said figures unpredictable.

SAMUEL I. BERGER. 

